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Fragile States

Although the phenomenon of state failure is not new, it has become much more relevant and worrying than ever before. In less interconnected eras, state weakness could be isolated and kept distant. Failure had fewer implications for peace and security. Now, within a more interconnected global community these fragile states pose dangers not only to themselves and their neighbors but also to peoples around the globe. Preventing states from failing, and resuscitating those that do fail, are thus strategic and global imperatives. CIC has provided research in this arena, developed panel dicussions that have explored critical issues confronting failed states. CIC has also drawn on expertise from the practitioner, NGO, academic and UN communities, provided candid recommendations and potential solutions to the global threat that failed states present.

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Over the past decade the United States and the international community have funded an unprecedented private security industry in Afghanistan. As a result, this industry has become entangled with the Afghan political economy, as international spending has been implicated in funding informal armed groups and commanders. Considerable uncertainty remains as Afghanistan approaches the 2014 deadline for assuming national security responsibilities.

The International Role in Libya's Transition tracks international efforts to assist the peacebuilding process in Libya, from August 2011 when the Libyan war entered its final stages to the year-long renewal of the mandate for the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in March 2012, drawing attention to the deep level of international engagement there.

The Libyan and Syrian crises have caused major international rifts over the use of force and crisis management. In February CIC convened a conference with the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute and the Brookings Institution to address how the U.S., its allies and emerging powers can rebuild trust around crisis diplomacy. The event involved scholars and officials from the U.S., Europe, China, India and Brazil.

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As the displacement of Syrians and other refugees in Turkey becomes increasingly protracted with no quick solution to the conflict in Syria in sight, overstretching the resources and capacities for the refugee response to its limits, formulating strategies and solutions to address the medium to long-term needs of refugees and host communities becomes increasingly vital.